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Categories: Energy: Technology, Engineering: Robotics Research

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Nanotechnology researchers have made novel carbon nanotube yarns that convert mechanical movement into electricity more effectively than other material-based energy harvesters.

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In a new study, researchers have managed to curb skin cancer. The study was conducted on artificial human skin.

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Meet the new addition to the robo-dog family, 'RaiBo', that can run along the sandy beach without losing balance and walk through grassy fields and back on the hard-floored tracking fields all on its own -- no further tinkering necessary.

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A new technique uses standard chip fab methods to fabricate the building block of a timing device, critical to all microprocessors. Currently, this timing device, known as an acoustic resonator, must be produced separately, often overseas, creating a supply chain and security weakness. The technique would allow for this timing device to be integrated with the microprocessor using standard CMOS processing, rather than later bunded with the microprocessor.

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Inspired by sea cucumbers, engineers have designed miniature robots that rapidly and reversibly shift between liquid and solid states. On top of being able to shape-shift, the robots are magnetic and can conduct electricity. The researchers put the robots through an obstacle course of mobility and shape-morphing tests.

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Scientists have succeeded in synthesizing fumaric acid, a raw material for plastics, from CO2 powered by solar energy. Typically, fumaric acid is synthesized from petroleum as a raw material to make polybutylene succinate, a biodegradable plastic, but this research shows that it can be synthesized from CO2 and biomass-derived compounds using renewable energy.

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Scientists have been studying a fish sensory organ to understand cues for collective behavior which could be employed on underwater robots.

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It was believed that Hall thrusters, an efficient kind of electric propulsion widely used in orbit, need to be large to produce a lot of thrust. Now, a new study suggests that smaller Hall thrusters can generate much more thrust -- potentially making them candidates for interplanetary missions.

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Mobile phone batteries with a lifetime up to three times longer than today's technology could be a reality thanks to a recent innovation.

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A research group has succeeded in measuring spin transport in a thin film of specific molecules -- a material well-known in organic light emitting diodes -- at room temperature. They found that this thin molecular film has a spin diffusion length of approximately 62 nm, a length that could have practical applications in developing spintronics technology. In addition, while electricity has been used to control spin transport in the past, the thin molecular film used in this study is photoconductive, allowing spin transport control using visible light.

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Researchers have made a significant leap forward in developing insect-sized jumping robots capable of performing tasks in the small spaces often found in mechanical, agricultural and search-and-rescue settings. A new study demonstrates a series of click beetle-sized robots small enough to fit into tight spaces, powerful enough to maneuver over obstacles and fast enough to match an insect's rapid escape time.

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One of the virtues of untethered soft robots is their ability to mechanically adapt to their surroundings and tasks. Now they are poised to become even more agile and controlled.

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The natural abilities of squid tissues and the creativity of chemists combine to take hydrogel research in new directions.

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For people who are blind or visually impaired, finding the right products in a crowded grocery store can be difficult without help. A team of computer scientists is trying to change that.

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Researchers developed a faster and simpler way to model the forces needed to push, wiggle, and drill an object through soft, granular material in real-time. The methods could help engineers drive a rover over Martian soil, anchor a ship in rough seas, and walk a robot through sand and mud.

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Flexible compounds made with Nobel-winning click chemistry can be used in energy-storing capacitors at high temperatures and electric fields.

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First, they walked. Then, they saw the light. Now, miniature biological robots have gained a new trick: remote control. The hybrid 'eBiobots' are the first to combine soft materials, living muscle and microelectronics, said researchers.

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Until now, microscopic robotic systems have had to make do without arms. Now researchers have developed an ultrasonically actuated glass needle that can be attached to a robotic arm. This lets them pump and mix minuscule amounts of liquid and trap particles.

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Birds fly more efficiently by folding their wings during the upstroke, according to a recent study. The results could mean that wing-folding is the next step in increasing the propulsive and aerodynamic efficiency of flapping drones.

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What is the best way to teach a robot? Sometimes it may simply be to speak to it clearly. Researchers found that human-language descriptions of tools can accelerate the learning of a simulated robotic arm lifting and using a variety of tools.